I'm back on track! I think I might have figured out what could be wrong!
I hooked up another working tv to the vcr, just to double check what channel the vcr was set on. (It doesn't have a channel switch like some older vcr's, it just has buttons to go up or down. But pressing them never had any effect). The other tv is a smaller portable one, but it has rotary tuning knobs. So I just flipped the knob through the channels until I got a clear image and sound. It turns out that the vcr is on channel 2. All this time, I assumed it was on channel 3 or 4, and that was what channels I was trying to get the Olympic tv to pick up a clear signal on. So I put it on channel 2, and now at least I have it on the same channel as the vcr!
My next idea was that maybe the horizontal oscillation frequency is off. I thought about that after reading a topic on another website, from a guy who was also working on restoring an antique TV. Warning, it's a LONG thread! But here's a link to it if anyone wants to read through it sometime. I definitely learned a lot from it:
http://antiqueradios.com/forums/view...p?f=3&t=269342
Before all this, I had no idea what a "horizontal oscillation coil" even was!
I set the horizontal hold knob around the halfway point, and then slowly and gently turned the "horizontal frequency" adjustment on the back. After fiddling with it for a while, I got the picture back! It was still really fuzzy, but at least I had
some kind of image again. It actually does kind of make sense that I would have to adjust the frequency...a couple of the capacitors I replaced were connected to the horizontal oscillation coil. So with more capacitance on that circuit, I'd have to adjust the coil to get it back in resonance. That's what I'm thinking, anyway.
I also replaced a few more capacitors that I had missed. I swear, this tv has more capacitors than I've ever seen in my life!
I definitely saw incremental improvements after that. The picture seemed to get a little bit more stable. It's still fuzzy, but I am noticing a difference.
I also found that if I turned the volume knob up, I can now very faintly hear the sound from the vcr on the
same channel that the video is coming on! (Channel 2). The sound signal doesn't interfere with the picture on channel 2. But there is interference coming from somewhere...it doesn't seem to be a signal, but more of an overall chaotic noise causing the image to be really fuzzy and occasionally throwing off the vertical and horizontal hold. I think I know what it might be. I'm really beginning to suspect the variable resistor for the "picture" control (contrast?). The knob feels kind of loose to me, and if I barely touch it, it causes a lot of static on the picture. I'm thinking that if it's worn out and not making good contact, it might be arcing and causing electrical noise. I know that old TV's are really sensitive to electrical noise. Even tv's from the 80's...I remember the tv used to go nuts whenever my mom would run the vacuum cleaner.
Another reason why I'm suspecting the picture control is that it seems like the image picks up more interference whenever there is a bright scene. Whenever the image would go from a dark scene to a light scene, it would suddenly get more fuzzy and I would have to adjust the controls to try to get the picture back. I'm thinking that on bright scenes, more current would be going through the variable resistor, and if it's making bad contact, it would cause even more electrical noise. I did check it with my multimeter earlier and the resistance looked right as I turned the knob. But I'm still very suspicious about it. I don't think it's working right while the tv is powered up. I've tried cleaning it with electrical contact spray and that isn't helping. I think it's just worn out. I'm not 100 percent sure, of course, but I'm really thinking that it could be the MAIN culprit causing the problems.
I'm going to try to replace the variable resistor and see what happens. Maybe, just maybe I'll have the tv working after that!
- Chris